Alan Koch has preached there's no such thing as a "squad rotation" with this Futbol Club Cincinnati roster. Whether a player has been a regular starter or has made a handful of appearances, Koch said he and his training staff maintain the same expectations. Results have reinforced that claim.

FC Cincinnati used the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as an opportunity to distribute chances across the lineup. Now that the cup run is complete, Koch said Thursday after practice that rotating players will continue as the club plays through a condensed United Soccer League schedule that continues Saturday night with a road trip to North Carolina FC.

"We're playing all these games right now," Koch said. "Everybody's going to get an opportunity in the short term. But when we get to the stage where we have one game a week, we're going to play the best group of players every week. ...We're not even thinking that far ahead just yet."

Of the club's 25 players, only Mark Village and Tyler Gibson have yet to play. Gibson is recovering from a broken leg sustained during preseason camp in Florida, while Village is stuck behind an Evan Newton-Spencer Richey goalkeeping pairing that has resembled two starting keepers more so than a first and second string.